May 10, 2007

W-BLT: It May Be Longer to Say, But It'll Catch On

A little while ago Sara of I Like to Cook posted asandwichforeverydayoftheweek.Each day she had a question about our favourite sandwiches and a trivia question.As if that wasn’t great enough all on its own, Sara offered up Julia Child’s Cooking with Master Chefs as a prize for some lucky person who could answer all 7 of her trivia questions.I happened to be that lucky person and am thrilled that I will soon be in possession of yet another cookbook, so thanks again Sara!Although I’m sure that all of the recipes in that book will be fantastic, I don’t think they’ll have one like mine… Sara’s daily questions got me thinking about what I like in a sandwich and also that I don’t make nearly enough of them.Especially amazing ones like this.As I’ve said before, waffles add years to your life so why not incorporate them into more meals?I’d never made a savoury waffle before so I figured I’d better play it safe and pair it with bacon, because bacon makes everything better.

You can label this sandwich another victory for the wonderful waffle!Imagine if you will, ripe tomatoes, crisp lettuce and homemade bacon, (drool) sandwiched between two sharp cheddar cheese waffles which have been slathered in baba ghanouj.Can you taste it yet?No? Well then you’d better get yourself into the kitchen to make it.

Once you’ve finished your W-BLT and have cleaned yourself up, (cause it’s a little messy), I’ve got a special request for you: a baba ghanoug recipe. I’ve tried a few times to make my own and it’s never turned out half as good as the stuff I buy at the store and that’s just not right.So if anyone is holding an amazingly good recipe that I can’t possibly ruin, (eggplants and I have had conflicts in the past) I would love if you would share it with me. Thanks!

A few splashes of milk (varies depending on the consistency of your batter)

Vegetable spray, for waffle iron

Preheat waffle iron according to manufacturer's directions.

In a medium bowl whisk together the flours, soda, baking powder and salt. In another bowl beat together eggs and cottage cheese. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir until combined.Add milk until a proper waffle batter consistency is achieved.Stir in the grated cheese. Allow to rest for 5 minutes.Ladle the recommended amount of waffle batter onto the iron according to the manufacturer's recommendations. Close iron top and cook until the waffle is golden on both sides and is easily removed from iron. Serve immediately or keep warm in a 200 degree F oven until ready to serve.

Preheat grill to high. Grill eggplants for about 20 minutes until evenly charred and soft, turning every 5 minutes, or so. Allow to cool in a bowl for a few minutes and then scoop flesh out of charred skin.

Mix with other ingredients in a blender. Adjust seasonings (if it doesn’t taste right, it might need more olive oil). Serve with grilled pita bread (or in a W-BLT).

But W-BLT has a nice ring to it. I just posted an eggplant dip recipe that is not a baba ganouj, but I think if you follow the technique of roasting the eggplant slowly til it is really dry and charred, then blending with the other ingredients until it is absolutely creamy, it will turn out well. Eggplant is pretty variable in quality too - make sure you get nice firm heavy ones.

I would have never thought of making a sandwich with waffles - although growing up, we would eat leftover waffles with peanut butter and honey - don't know why I didn't think of making it into an actual sandwich!! This sounds fantastic. I actually just ran across a recipe for egg-salad BLTs - maybe I should make them on these waffles!

Wow, my wife and niece recently had lunch at a popular breakfast spot and there were bits of bacon *in* the waffle. They said it was a mistake and brought out a regular waffle, but I probably would have eaten the waffle. Speaking of bacon, that bacon looks amazing.

Wow! Now I may have a slightly different waffle in mind but that is just THE BEST IDEA I've seen this week on the sandwich landscape! I often make waffles for toast when I'm out of bread so why not use them for a sandwich!Brilliant!

You're a bit of a hero in this household. My husband & 5 year old want to make their own bacon now too. Any tips? I'll spend time later going back through your blog incase there's anything there.Thanks, Amanda

I am so glad someone else likes waffle sandwiches. The filling may be different (and yours looks splendidly delicious) but waffles are the original wonderbread! They even have built in condiment crannies! *smile*